#Recipe 02: Rose Shaped Apple Pastry, Cooking with Manuela

Still exhausted from my aspirations, this Rose Apple Pastry took over my newsfeed last week and it looked relatively simple enough to conquer! So I made them for a dear friend’s birthday over the weekend. Learnt a couple of things as well – that apples can be sliced really thin with a good knife and how to soften an apple so it can curve.

The end result is so elegant that the minimal effort put in just seems sort of hilarious. I made a 2nd batch just yesterday! Suggested to use this to impress the in-laws maybe 😉

Prep Time: 20mins | Bake Time: 45mins
Total Waiting Time (before eating): 1hr 5mins

INGREDIENTS for 12 servings

1. 4 Red Apples, Washington ones seems the best
2. 5 Tablespoons of Apricot Jam*
3. 2 Sheets of Shortcrust Pastry Sheets*
4. Cinnamon Powder (Optional)
5. 1 Tablespoon of Flour
6. Bowl of Water (for Apple Slices)
7. 1/2 Lemon juice (Squeezed)
8. 4 Tablespoons of Water
9. Icing sugar for Happiness
10. Unsalted butter to grease the bakeware

6 Utensils + 1 conventional oven + microwave or stove

2 Bowls (for Microwave of over light flame on Stove), 1 Rolling Pin, 1 Clean Flat surface, 1 Knife, 1 Cutting Board, Cupcake baking trays (Regular sized), drainer and Oven.

Let’s do this

• Preheat oven at 190 degrees (374 Fahrenheit), you can do this when you’re rolling the 2nd Pastry Sheet.
• Defrost Pastry Sheets, take them out of the freezer and leave it to thaw.
• Squeeze lemon into a bowl of water for the apple slices.
• Prepare the apples:
  • Half and core apples, then slice them width-wise. Not too thin or it’ll break easily.
  • Spread the slices into the bowl of lemon+water.
  • Suggestion to do one apple at a time to minimise oxidisation.
  • Once all apples are sliced, simmer bowl over medium heat for 3-5min or microwave for 3mins. Apple slices are to be easier to roll.
  • Drain slices to be used for pastry.
• Mix the Apricot Jam with 4 tablespoons of water over a light flame or place it in microwave for 1min after mixing.
• Sprinkle some flour  on the clean surface and roll out the Pastry Sheet as much as possible (from a squarish shape to rectangle).
• Divide the length of the Pastry Sheet into 6 equal slices with a knife.
• Assembly time! 
  • Take one slice of pastry sheet and place it away from the others.
  • Spread a tablespoon of Apricot Jam along the length.
  • Place one of the Apple Slices along the length of the pastry slice, with half of it (the curved part) on the surface and out of the pastry. Each slice after that is to overlap the earlier slice.
  • Sprinkle the cinnamon all over the slice of pastry.
  • Fold the bottom of pastry sheet onto the top (meaning that the half of the apple slices will be covered). Make sure to tap the edges of the pastry sheet together.
  • Rosy part: Gently roll the pastry slice lengthwise to form the Rose. Do not squeeze it but be firm and ensure edges are sealed.
• Place each of the Rose into the bake-ware and place into oven to bake. When it’s 30mins, shift tray to bottom-most tray so that the pastry is fully cooked.
• Finishing touch: Sprinkle some icing sugar before serving!

I think it’s a perfect present and yummy-ness for all occasion! 2 of them even got to Sydney when the beau passed through SG for 3hours! Hehe!

The first time I made it, the apple slices broke apart cause I left them to simmer in the lemon water too long. The 2nd time I made it, I forgot to drain the slices = sloggy pastry that could not hold the apple.

Disclaimer: Original recipe by Cooking with Manuela: http://cookingwithmanuela.blogspot.sg/2015/03/apple-roses.html. Watch her video on YouTube for this recipe, click here! Original recipe used Puff Pastry Sheets, but Phoon Huat only had Shortcurst Pastry Sheet, which turned out not too bad too!